Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-09-16
A GREAT AUCTION.
A PLACE IN PARIS WHERE
EVERYTHING IS OFFERED.
The Spectacle at the Hotel Drouet
Things Sold There-Arti-
cles Sent Prom All
Parts ofthe World.


Bullet in a letter from Paris to the Brook
lyn Eagle. Built in 1S41it has ever since
been an immense budget box for ever
changing million and one things which
have already passed through the hands
OF one or many owners. Along long
halls wide doors open into large square
rooms, in which universal variety of
things are hung up and exposed for show,
and where bills are posted enumerating
the objects to be sold and the date of the
sale. A counter separates the public
from the chief auctioneer-commissa
priseur-his assistant and the expert.
The entrance to all the rooms is public,
and thousands of people daily pass
through them to buy, to look round, to
kill time; while some, it is said, men and
women, promenade the halls and rooms
in quest of adventures and victims.
In one room a gallery of paintings,
bronzes, bric-a-brac and antiques will in
viteyou to its inspection. This is very like
collection whose owner has been years
in making it, and whom bric-a-brac has
rendered penniless, or whose love for
things passes with their possession. Next
to this you will probably find the costly
appointments, jewels and laces of lady
whose equivocal reputation is pro-
nounced. She has put up her belongings
for sale, perhaps for the sake of advertise
ment or for making money, or because
she, at this late day, has become convinced,
like Camille, that love in a simple cottage
is the most unalloyed. Going on further,
find. thn f,,rr e
established house exposed to view-one
OF the numerous sales after denth When
the father of a minor dies the law de-
mands all moyeables and property to be
sold to settle the estate. Therefore, all
the deceased's belongings, from a tin
dipper to painting worth its weight in
gold must pass under the auctioneer's
hammer and all these sales generally
take place at the Hotel Drouot. Pass
ing on to the next room, you will proba-
bly, view all the glittering frippery, cos
tunes, appointments and properties of a
theater into bankruptcy. You leave
this rag bag of refuse properties
to enter into a show of porce-
LANES hailing from all nations,
probably gathered by one of the nu-
merous victims of passion for colec-
tions. Opposite to this, you are likely
to meet with the exposition of another
collection of artistic objects sent from
half way round the world to be sold in
Paris. For this city and London have
the monopoly of such sales, and during
the season-from October to January
PHotel Drouot is packed with loads of
things hailing from Italy, Holland, Bel
GUM and in fact from all parts of the
world, to be turned into money. The
adventures of collection of paintings
sent here in 1884 from New York is
doubtless still vivid to many minds.
The Brazilian Consul to New York then
sent large and most precious collection
of paintings to pHotel Drouot to be sold.
They were addressed to the great expert,
Mr.. Bernheim, with flaming notices at
tached to every canvass attesting their
great value, rarity and antiquity. Thus
Rubens was labeled "Admire this pic
ture which cost $4,000" And this Van
Dyck, costing 50, 00O" There was Sal
vator Rosa which was beyond compare,
and Reni beyond price. Some Teniers,
Corots, Rousseaus, which had been
bought at the Duke de Morny's sale.
Duke de Morny never had sale. At
the first glance Mr.. Bernheim saw that
all these paintings, without an excep-
ton, were not genuine, and Immediately
cabled the fact to the owner. On the
spot the unfortunate man stopped the
sale, cabled that he had been grossly
humbugged by the vendors, and that he
was ignorant of the spuriousncss of his
collection. Mr.. Bernheim did not for
moment doubt the gentleman's word, for
in that case, what could have pushed
him to send the pictures to the place
where they were most likely to be esti-
mated at their just value2 1t is a de-
plorable fact that laws exist in all coun-
tries to punish the sale of many spurious
articles, of eatables and Others that a
severe inspection is instituted to appre-
hend the vendors of such, and yet no
law has ever been passed anywhere for
the punishment of fraudulent sales of OBJ
jects of art 1t is probably because the
most expert among experts can never be
positively sure and give sufficient guar
anty for the genuine origin of such arti-
cles, no positive proofs of their authen-
ITCHY.
The auctions at PHotel Droubt are in
the hands of auctioneers-commissaires
priseurs-and experts. There is a syndi-
cate of the former which holds control
of all the sales A few among the num-
Der are considered most expert and in
dispensable to good financial results.
For instance, sale of objects of art
must be in the hands of M. Chevalier to
bring in large profits. One might infer
from that that the few favorite auction
eers make all the money. Such is not
the case, for according to the regulations
of the company every auctioneer must
throw half of the net proceeds of what
he makes into common fund, whichis
equally divided among all, those who do
much and those who do little. For the
right to fill the place of retiring or de-
ceased auctioneer is often paid as high as
$4,000. But they all make money, for
beside what an auctioneer makes indi-
vidually his social benefits from the funds
often run up to $4, 900 a year. The auc-
tioneer is responsible to the purchaser for
the article sold and the price it has
brought to the vendor. Six per cent. of
the sale is levied for expenses of auction
eering also certain per cent. is asked
5or the vendor.
Some merchants and experts spend
years at the Hotel Drouot in search of a
'tstroke" To make stroke is, for in
stance, to pay $40 for an object and then
sell it for $4,000. Generally all the
strokes are made at an auction where
there are, perhaps, 800 bidders who are
totally blind at the moment of sale, and
the scales are only moved from their
eyes when it is too late. A few years
ago gentleman wanted painting for
bare place on the wall of his dining